DMA Community Connection
Giraff-E-News Week 38 - May 22, 2023
Downtown Montessori Academy
Website: www.dallasisd.org/downtownmontessori
Location: 1901 Main Street, Dallas, TX, USA
Phone: 9727492500
School website: https://www.dallasisd.org/downtownmontessori
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DowntownIda
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DowntownIda
Mission: Our mission is to foster the emotional, intellectual, physical, and social development of the whole child by addressing the uniqueness of each in an authentic Montessori environment within a public school diverse educational community.
Vision: Our school will provide an authentic Montessori environment in an accredited Public Montessori School to meet the needs of the child through a commitment to the principles of Montessori education and full accountability to the public education standards.
Core Values: Love You, Love Others, Love Our World
DMA Giraffes are "Making A Tall Difference Every Day with Every Child!"
Love You means; taking care of yourself so you can take care of others.
Love Others means; We are the example of what we want. We define our Excellence!
Love Our World means; Build other leaders in the spirit of Excellence, and you are cultivating a lasting legacy of LOVE to nurture our world and be kind to our world.
Principal's Message
Dear DMA Giraffe Nation,
Can you believe this is the last week of the 2022-23 school year?
We are so proud and grateful to have had the opportunity to work with you and your children and to see them grow academically and socially. So, as we close out this amazing school year, I want to say thank you for your partnership and commitment to DMA. I am grateful to have a community that not only understands our story but steps up to help cultivate and tell our story alongside me and the faculty of DMA.
I am filled with hope and excitement as we move forward to turn the page to the next chapter of DMA for the school year 2023 - 2024.
As we prepare for all the upcoming end-of-the-year events, please get in touch with your classroom teachers for more specific information about any of the scheduled events.
Please carefully read this memo and check your child’s weekly Wednesday Folder for flyers and handouts for upcoming events, as many great things are taking place in the land of DMA!
We Did IT - 2023 DMA Field Day
THANK YOU to everyone who played a part in helping to make 2023 Field Day Bigger & Better. From the loading of busses to transitions of stations, tents, water stations, and safety and security of check-ins, it was ALL HANDS on DECK! When Giraffes Unite, Nothing Can Stop US! I am so looking forward to what we will do next! Huge Shout Out to Principal Jackson and the BOMLA Staff for supporting and welcoming us.
Kinder Bridging Ceremony
Upper Elementary End of Year Tea Party Information
Dear Parents,
As we approach the end of another successful academic year, we would like to inform you about an exciting event that will not only celebrate our students' accomplishments but also reinforce their financial literacy skills.
Next Thursday, May 25, 2023, we will be hosting an Upper Elementary Auction as part of our ongoing efforts to enhance our students' understanding of financial literacy. This auction will serve as a culminating activity for a math project in which our students will have created and operated their own 'businesses' using a 'currency' called Gigi that our students created for this purpose.
This project is to allow our students to develop essential life skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and financial decision-making. By creating and managing their own businesses, they will have gained hands-on experience in entrepreneurship and learned valuable lessons about money management and budgeting.
To make this event a success, we kindly request your support by donating an item to be auctioned off during the event using the student-made 'Gigi currency'. We suggest that the value of each donation costs no more than $10; examples of acceptable donations are gift cards for kids, fancy pen or markers, or special treat such as Ferrero Roche. The funds raised through the auction will provide an opportunity for our students to participate and bid using the 'income' they have accumulated through their businesses and savings.
Following the auction, we will be hosting a private 'tea party' exclusively for our students. This juice and cookie 'tea party' will offer a relaxed and enjoyable setting for them to socialize with their peers, reflect on their learning journey throughout the year, and celebrate their achievements in financial literacy.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Lower Elementary End of Year Tea Party Information
Click on each teacher's name to review their information for the planned Tea Party.
Primary End of Year Tea Party Information
Click on each teacher's name to review their information for the planned Tea Party.
Please complete this form for each of your children currently enrolled in grades PK-4 at DMA. The information on this form will help staff determine the best placement for next year.
New School Year Start Times and End Times for 2023 - 2024 will be 8:00 - 3:20 pm.
Need Help Registering for the 2023 - 24 School Year? Early Learning will help!
New Elementary School Time for 2023 - 2024
School will start @ 8:00 am
School will End @ 3:20 pm
Early drop off and after school care information will be shared during our July welcome back Smore and our PTO welcome back event.
#HerFighIsOurFight - See Message from our PTO
Put this on your Calendar
Upcoming Events
05.22.23 – Third Group of Kinder Shadowing Day
05.23.23 – Kinder Bridging Ceremony
05.25.23 – EOY Classroom Tea Parties
05.26.23 – Giraffe Jamboree Showcase & Last Day of School
Help Us Enforce our NO Parking Zones on Elm St.
Events Happening In Dallas
DMA Monthly Calendar. Click on the calendar below for English & Spanish
Amended Calendar for the 2023 - 2024 School Year
Show UP Attendance Matters!
Every school day counts in a child's academic life... A missed school day is a lost opportunity for students to learn. Together we are all aiming for our goal - 98% Attendance!
Here are our Grade Level Attendance Averages:
🥰🦒
Way to move the needle Giraffes!
All Giraffes who have perfect attendance will receive special recognition with the upcoming final report card for Cycle 4.
All Giraffes who have 5 or less absences will receive a special treat from DISD to Six Flags and Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Read more about attendance and the ways families can support student success here.
HELP US HELP YOU!
Please label ALL of your student's items! We want to keep hats, mittens, coats, sweaters, water bottles, etc. out of the lost and found. It is much easier to return misplaced items when they are labeled.
Important School Information
Our Instructional start time has changed to 8:00 am. Our dismissal time will start at 3:00 pm
- Arrival/Drop off will begin @ 7:15 am
- Students will be picked up from their waiting area @ 7:50 am
- Instructional learning begins at 8:00 am
- Dismissal/Pick up will begin @ 3:00 pm
- After school care begins @ 3:00 pm
Important Resources and Information
- Always bring an ID to the office for all student pick-ups.
- Cut off time for early student pick-up is 2:30 PM
- No cupcakes or snacks high in sugar are permitted for Celebration of Life. Please bring healthy snacks the whole class can enjoy.
- No fast-food deliveries for students.
- Doors for students to enter the building every morning open at 7:15 AM.
- School starts at 8:00 AM, and tardies are distributed after this time.
- If a student arrives after 8:45 AM, this counts as a partial absence (T99).
- Always submit an excuse note anytime your student is absent.
- Please have your student adhere to the uniform policy.
Stay tuned to the City of Dallas news and upcoming events at https://www.dallascitynews.net/
Attendance Resources: Click here for Excuse Letter Parent services Attendance Matter
Click here for the Food & Child Nutrition Services Forms
Do not allow your children to use UNT restroom unattended. We are in a open place where our children can easily interact with other adults. Your supervision of your child is key to their safety once they are released from us to you.
Link for Voly: https://dallasisd.voly.org/. All Volunteers MUST be VOLY Approved Before Participating in any Campus Events.
Thank you for making Every Day a Great Day at DMA!
#TheGiraffeEffect
When your class wears your favorite color for teacher appreciation week
Thank you from Mrs. Velazquez
Every Experience @ DMA Matters
When a child teaches another child because he successfully did his own!
A prepared environment is one with a caring community
Mrs. Cuesta Community Circle
We even have a prepared environment with Performance Art
Giraffes Stand Tall In All That We Do!
DMA 2023 Chess Tournament! Way to Go Giraffes!
Counselor Corner
Checkout the news from Counselor Perryman! Click on her button below for the website and resources you need to have a successful school year.
DMA Montessori Stewardship Moment by Ms. Miner
The Great Lessons begin at DMA!
Check out the included video of the Importance of the Prepared environment for the classroom and how it can extend to your home environment. There are other videos, 2 articles, and then a book that you can purchase to help support your own family growth with our Downtown Montessori School.
Learning made fun with our Librarian, Mr. Marvin
Mr. Marvin invites you to visit his website. Click on the button below to begin a journey that has high heights!
Boys & Girls Club After School Program Information
Participating parents and stakeholders, please provide feedback to our afterschool program BGC.
School Club Survey links.
BGCD Parent & Caregiver Survey- School Campus
https://forms.office.com/r/RN6Vg3fRXg
School Administrative Partners Feedback Survey
For further information, please contact Mr. Dickerson @ rdickerson@bgcdallas.org
ALL PRO DAD'S CLUB INFORMATION
Hi families,
We are looking to grow our PTO board members and committee leaders for next school year. Please take a look at the form below if you are interested in joining us! I will also attach the position job descriptions in the comments.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSce1GrObAZyritEVg6KldZi7EugIeDo6FID3RU9_fXcWZ1LKw/viewform
Thank you!
Carolina
Support our DMA PTO
· Downtown Montessori’s Amazon Smile Link:
https://smile.amazon.com/ch/85-2550090
· How to Change Your AmazonSmile Charitable Organization
To change your charitable organization:
1. Sign in to smile.amazon.com on your desktop or mobile phone browser.
2. From your desktop, go to Your Account, Amazon Smile, and then select the option to Change your Charity. Or, from your mobile browser, select Change your Charity from the options at the bottom of the page.
3. Select a new charitable organization to support.
Search: Ida B Wells Dallas PTO
Click on SBDM icon to review April's Meeting Video
SBDM Video Passcode is: GD+?xWb5